Apple on Monday updated its Apple TV set-top box to software version 5.1, adding support for Shared Photo Streams, and the ability to send audio content from the Apple TV to AirPlay-enabled speakers and devices including the AirPort Express.

Users can now download Apple TV Software Update 5.1 by going into the Settings section of the device, choosing General, and then selecting Update Software. The full list of changes in the update, as detailed by Apple, are:

AirPlay: Send audio content from Apple TV to AirPlay-enabled speakers and devices (including AirPort Express and other Apple TVs). Also includes the ability to require an onscreen code to use AirPlay with your Apple TV.

Hm. Nice update, but still waiting for a way to set up an ad-hoc WLAN. The Apple TV would be ideal in the travel bag, if I could just use AirPlay in hotels without lugging around an additional Airport, give presentations with just an Apple TV and an iPad, even if the client's or institute's WLAN or firewall gets in the way...

What a waste of a good piece of hardware. When will they add app support????

Right after people realize that's not what the device is for and that "apps" as you know them shouldn't be on it.

agree with Tallest Skil. Apple is changing the frame of reference for game devices... the controller is the game device. AppleTV is just a 'smart media switcher' and 'game visuals' are just an 'input.

It may be a waste of HW now... but look at it compared to a Cable Box (dumb media switcher).

The key to AppleTV is getting media feeds to match it's smartness. and in that regard, Apps on AppleTV are like HTML5 on an iPhone/iPad, a stopgap measure until you are totally 'native' in the AppleTV environment.

What a waste of a good piece of hardware. When will they add app support????

ATV apps would hurt the iOS ecosystem. It seems like a good idea at first, but really it isn't. The type of interaction optimal to a large screen and a basic remote control is completely different than handheld multi-touch devices. Developers would try to shoe-horn iOS apps onto the platform and they wouldn't work that well.

Apple is doing this right. The video extender should have very little functionality. Sophisticated interaction is better kept on devices with more sophisticated input hardware.

Seriously, if you haven't tried it sometime, hang out with a group of iOS toting friends in an ATV equipped home theater. AirPlay and everyone having their own screen for interaction, is awesome. It becomes immediately obvious that remote controls and channel surfing are stone age technology as compared to a handheld device airplaying to a big screen.

I'd like to be able to access my music without iTunes Match, the same way I can ready access movies and tv shows. Or adding Spotify access would be nice. Have to agree with dreyfus2 though... ad-hoc networking would be nice. Would it work to just set up a hotspot on iPhone and connect ATV to that, or would that still somehow use cell data even if the content was stored on the iPhone? Hadn't thought to try that yet.

What a waste of a good piece of hardware. When will they add app support????

Right after people realize that's not what the device is for and that "apps" as you know them shouldn't be on it.

While I agree that most apps don't have a place on an Apple TV, I believe it would be great if different media providers could offer their services on it. Hulu Plus, You Tube and Netflix are available right now. Others have mentioned BBC iPlayer. I own both a Roku and Apple TV and things like Crackle.com, etc would be nice.

Even if all they want to do is demand access with HTML5 and you can save websites as icons then that would still require adding something beyond what they have now.

Apple TV is still a hobby but a couple more pieces might making it amazing and give it a huge lead.

I'd like to be able to access my music without iTunes Match, the same way I can ready access movies and tv shows. Or adding Spotify access would be nice. Have to agree with dreyfus2 though... ad-hoc networking would be nice. Would it work to just set up a hotspot on iPhone and connect ATV to that, or would that still somehow use cell data even if the content was stored on the iPhone? Hadn't thought to try that yet.

ditto on iTunes. I would also like a browser that would allow me to search for and stream from other sources. Most TV stations will now stream the popular shows a day or two after they are first broadcast. I currently use a mac mini for this purpose but that is a waste of hardware.

I think a lot of people are misunderstanding what most people want from "apps" on the Apple TV, hence the it's a stupid idea comments.

It is highly frustrating for those that don't live in America and so do not have access to Netflix & Hulu. As many have said the UK is a year example in terms of BBC iPlayer.

Apps that allow additional functionality in terms of adding Iplayer support is desperately needed, using the Iplayer app on the iPhone to deliver unoptimised video to the Apple TV is counter productive.

Look at how sucessful the Netflix app is. People, especially those who are not American and so are more affected want this.

Anyone know if they fixed the Home Sharing/Mountain Lion issue that basically broke the Apple TV for a bunch of people. I spent another hour or so this weekend trying to get it work (it worked find before Mountain Lion came into my house) to no avail. There are lots of posts on Apple's support site with no one posting any solutions. The problem is that my iDevices no longer see my Apple TV and my Apple TV can't get any content from my mac (any of my macs) no matter how many time I reset my Apple TV and turn Home Sharing off and on (and turn my firewalls off). It's a very "unApple" experience. It just doesn't work.

If you can get an Apple TV 2 the ideal setup is to jailbreak it, install aTV black, and get a home media server like a Synology. I store all my content on the Synology and everything streams to the Apple TV via AFP.

There's a reason why a used ATV 2 is selling more than twice of a new ATV 3.

Apple is not unlocking the potential of ATV because they can't monetize that potential, that's all. It's just a matter of time before Apple can figure out how to make money out of it then they'll add apps.